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1960 Formula One season
The 1960 Formula One season featured the eleventh FIA World Championship of Drivers the third International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship commenced on 7 February 1960 and ended on 20 November after ten races. Season summary 1960 was the last year of the 2.5 litre formula and it produced repeat victories for Jack Brabham and Cooper, and saw Lotus, Porsche, and BRM campaigning rear-engined cars. Lance Reventlow's Scarabs, like the Aston Martins, were front-engined and outclassed. Stirling Moss' Rob Walker Lotus gave Colin Chapman his first Grand Prix win at Monaco and followed it with victory in the USA. All other Grands Prix went to Cooper, except for the Italian which was boycotted by the British constructors since the Italians were using Monza's banked circuit. The points-scoring system was changed with the point for fastest lap being dropped and a point given for sixth place. The best six scores counted towards the championship, increased from five from the previous season. It was the last World Drivers' Championship to include the Indianapolis 500, and the last season which saw a victory for a front-engined car in a World Drivers' Championship race. Three drivers died in this season of Grand Prix racing. American Harry Schell in a non-championship race at Silverstone, and Britons Chris Bristow & Alan Stacey, both killed at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Stirling Moss was severely injured in a practice accident at this event and did not compete for most of the season. Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 1960 FIA World Championship. Season review The new decade began with Cooper cars now at the top of the heap. Their mid-engines were the work of English engineers John Cooper and Colin Chapman, who together would revolutionize the design of racing cars. The back-to-back Championship wins of Cooper and Jack Brabham in 1959 and 1960 heralded British domination of Formula One for the next ten years. During 1960 Climax-engined cars won every race bar one and Ferrari certianly saw the writing on the wall. Their dogged peristence with front engined cars was about to come to an end. At the opening race in Argentina, Brabham failed to impress, with transmission troubles foring an early retirement. His young team-mate, Bruce McLaren, was more fortunate; both of the early leaders, Moss and Bonnier, ran into mechanical trouble, giving McLaren the chance to edge to the front. He won the race, his second consecutive win, beating Cliff Allison in the Ferrari into second. Moss, in Trintignants's Cooper, finished third. At Monaco, Moss drove in the new rear-engined Lotus 18, the brainchild of Colin Chapman. Despite wet conditions, Moss and the car performed brilliantly and won the race ahead of McLaren. Despite sustaining a puncture at Zandvoort, Moss delivered another excellent performance, pushing the car from twelfth place to fourth at the finish. Brabham, who had led all the way, took the win, the first of five in a row. Although Brabham was to collect the winner's points for a further four races, Moss's fortune was quite the opposite. At Spa, during preparation for the main event, a wheel came off his lotus and in the ensuing crash he broke both of his legs, although he returned just weeks later to race at Oporto. It was the first of a number of terrible accidents. During the race itself, Briton Alan Stacey was hit by a bird, while fellow countryman Chris Bristow shot off the road in his Cooper-Climax. Both men were killed. The race was won by Brabham, with McLaren second. In fifth place was Jim Clark, collecting his first Championship points. He had already debuted at Zandvoort, rcaing against Graham Hill, who had made his own debut at Monaco two years previously. Brabham's fourth victory was at Silverstone; however, it was Hill who took most of the plaudits. Despite stalling his BRM on the line, Hill tooks the lead, only to spin off with just seven laps to go. Brabham profited and gratefully accepted maximum points, while John Surtees, who was also in his bedut year, took secind place. Surtees had already been dominating the motorcycling Grand Prix circuit, and he made the transition froom two wheels to four with Champman's Team Lotus. Silverstone was Surtees' best finish of the year, with him coming in at second on only his second race. With a pole position in Portugal, he gave an immense performance, building up a 10-second lead over Brabham, before being forced out of the race with a split radiator. Yet again, Brabham profited from the misfortune of another and his second world title was assured. The Italian Grand Prix was marred by controversy; the British teams boycotted the event, protesting over the inclusion of the dangerous banked sections of the circuit. Ferrari was left to mop up the spolis on home territory with a win for Phill Hill. It had, however, been a dismal year for the Scuderia, who didn't enter the final round at the US circuit, Riverside. That victory went to Moss, back on form, but too late to be able to take the title. 'Teams Overview' 'Cooper' : Main Article: Cooper Car Company/1960 Season Copper was completely dominant during the season, winning six out of nine races with the T53 driven by Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren. It was a relatively simple car, but it had low lines, a new multi-tubular space frame, and coil spring and wishbone independent suspension - gone at last, at Brabham's insistence, was the transverse-leaf arrangement. Brabham picked up five straight wins claimign his second crown with team-mate McLaren finishing runner-up. Cooper also retained the Constructors' Cup. 'Team Lotus' For 1960 Colin Champman introduced the rear-engined Lotus 18 which achieved two victories at the hands of Stirling Moss for the Rob Walker privateer team. Team Lotus itself fielded a number of drivers during the season, Innes Ireland earning them 18 points and fourth in the Drivers' Championship. It was, however, a young scot named Jim Clark who had a grater impact with eigth points in six outings. 'Scuderia Ferrari' 1960 proved a dull year for Ferrari and their drivers Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips. Still using 246 front engined cars, they were no where near as competative as the others around them. American Hill picked up a single win at Italy for the Scuderia, with the British teams not present. Results and standings 'Grands Prix' 'Non-championship Grands Prix ' Other Formula One races also held in 1960, which did not count towards the World Championship. '1960 Drivers' Championship final standings ' Points were awarded on an 8–6–4–3–2–1 basis at each round, with only the best six round results retained. |valign="top"| |} * † Position shared between more drivers of the same car – no points awarded * Italics indicate fastest lap * Bold indicates pole position '1960 Constructors' Championship final standings' Points were awarded on an 8–6–4–3–2–1 basis at each round (excluding the Indianapolis 500), with only the best six results from the nine races retained. Only the best placed car from each manufacturer at each round was eligible to score points. *'Bold' results counted to championship totals. References #http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Formula_One_season #http://www.statsf1.com/en/1960.aspx Category:Formula One Seasons